We’re celebrating seeds

We're celebrating because good seeds are good for...

The environment and the food you eat are deeply entwined. Everything, from the seed a farmer plants, to the way the crops are tended, to the processing, packaging and transport of food, affects the health of ecosystems.

Your decision to buy and grow good seed has impact all the way down the food chain, right down to the soil.

It’s not just the environment good seeds are good for. It’s you. Seed savers choose their seeds with nutrition in mind. So we’re celebrating seed because they are delicious – and nutritious.

Generations of family farmers have selected, saved and shared their best seeds, expanding seed diversity over time. They’ve nurtured thousands of varieties – 20,000 varieties of maize (corn) alone – each with their own strengths, adapting to changing conditions with each growing season. They’ve become resilient. Some varieties are resistant to diseases or pests. Others are tolerant of weather extremes like drought or floods or early frosts. Some have better yields or better nutrition. We need all these traits – now more than ever so our communities can be resilient too.

It’s up to us to maintain diversity – by eating it! Celebrate agricultural innovation that values diversity and builds resilience.

As an eater, you have a say in how food gets to your plate. When you support the right of a farmer to save seeds, you support a change in the food system. When you choose food grown from farmer-saved seeds, you localize food, put control in the hands of valued farmers, care for the environment, and give people a reason to keep the knowledge and skills of seed-saving alive. These are the pillars of food sovereignty.